Mockery of System
Hostile witnesses take courts for a ride
Chandigarh/Panchkula, February 26
An increasing number of
police witnesses are taking the courts for a ride and turning the
tables on the police in high-profile cases by turning hostile and
retracting from their earlier statements. Two murder cases, which the
UT police boasted had been solved, collapsed in court this week. While
in one case, a woman refused to identify her husband’s killers, a
son refused to identify her mother’s killers in court on
Saturday.

Cases falling flat in court not new Chandigarh Tribune peeps into some sensational cases involving hostile witnesses
Chandigarh/Panchkula, February 26
NRI murder case: NRI Mubarak Hassan was murdered in March last year. His wife Jahan Ara refused to identify her husband’s killers in court. Mubarak was killed in Mani Majra while he was on an after-dinner walk with his wife. The attackers had attempted to rob his wife’s jewellery. All three accused were acquitted by court for lack of evidence.

Drunk youths vandalise Rose Garden
Chandigarh, February 26
Over two dozen youths damaged statues and pots on display at the three-day rose festival at Rose Garden late last night. Three statues and some topiaries, besides flower pots, were
vandalised. Repeated calls to the police for help by the municipal corporation (MC) staff proved futile as no police personnel reached the spot.

The broken arm of a statue at Rose Garden,
Chandigarh. A group of youths vandalised the garden on late Saturday night. Tribune photo: Pradeep Tewari

A long queue of visitors can be seen outside the venue at Sector 16 in Chandigarh on Sunday.

People step on flower beds during the Rose Festival.
(R) A tooth of the dummy elephant has been broken. Tribune Photos: Pradeep Tewari And Vicky Gharu

Playback singer delights residents
Chandigarh, February 26
A memorable music concert by acclaimed Bollywood playback icon Abhijit Bhattacharya provided a befitting grand finale to the festivities of 40th Rose fest at the Leisure Valley here today. Music lovers danced in ecstasy as the tuneful voice of Abhijit Bhattacharya wafted across the ambience.

So much for security at PUMan enters girls’ hostel at night
Chandigarh, February 26
The security system at Panjab University took a beating on late last night when a man managed to enter the girls’ hostel no. 1, barely a few metres from gate number 2, which according to the PU has “full security” to check late night entry on the campus. In the absence of any check even at the hostel gate, he managed to reach the first floor of the hostel.

Man accuses SHO of tortureMedical report reveals he sustained injuries on pvt parts while in custody
Chandigarh, February 26
A Dadumajra resident has accused Charanjeet Singh, SHO of the Sector 39 police station, of electrocuting his private parts to force him to confess to the crimes he had allegedly not committed. His claims were supported by a medical examination report which states bruises were found on his private parts and left arm. The medical examination was conducted following the orders of the Judicial Magistrate, where Sikander filed his complaint.
According to him, he was arrested on February 24 at around 12.13 pm when he was going to pick up his children from school. “SI Baldev Singh arrested me and took to the
chowki."

Sikander (centre) being taken for a medical examination at the GMSH-16, Chandigarh, on Sunday. Tribune photo: Pradeep Tewari

Engg students on earthy ventureHelp potters sell products
Chandigarh, February 26
It began with an ardent wish by few students of the department of chemical engineering and technology
(DCET), Panjab University, to do something productive for
someone. They hit on the idea to save the art of potters that has no takers. The students went door to door to survey and make earthen products popular among people. They are now designing carts of potters and will start a campaign to sell their products.

Open house response
Apartment Act suicidal for city, should be opposed
The thought of the Apartment Act in the city is amazing and an eyeopener. It surely forces one to think like Sherlock Holmes as to who is planning such an unfaithful act towards the city and why especially to the north of Chandigarh, which is the head of the city and like a crown. Any attempt to bring the Apartment Act will be suicidal for the city as the claim and application for the World Heritage Status is pending before UNESCO since November, 2006. Any tinkering with the original plan will have Chandigarh being shown the door by UNESCO.

CITCO ‘least bothered’ to recover dues, says Audit report
Chandigarh, February 26
The Chandigarh Industrial Tourism and Development Corporation (CITCO) is ‘least bothered’ when it comes to recovering the outstanding dues from various debtors. The corporation, which has been allowing credit sales to various customers, has to recover about Rs 11.14 crore from its several debtors.

District notes
Smoke-free Mohali still a dream Authorities yet to enforce Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act
Mohali, February 26
Despite tall claims of the Punjab government to formally declare Mohali as the first “Smoke Free” district in the state, no practical action seems to have been taken on the ground.

Two fire incidents reported in cityOne dead, goods worth lakhs gutted
Chandigarh, February 26
One person died while property worth lakhs destroyed in two seperate fire incidents reported in the city late night yesterday. The deceased has been identified as Harish, alias Chhotu (40), a resident of Sector 22.

Chandigarh scan
Scholarships granted
At least 14 eligible students were
given scholarship worth Rs11 lakhs in various courses during “Admission counselling-cum-scholarship fair” organised by the Aryans Group of Colleges today in Sector 8-C, Chandigarh. The scholarship was given to the needy students on merit-cum-means basis.

Students participate in admission counselling-cum-scholarship fair organised by the Aryans Group of Colleges at Sector 8, Chandigarh, on Sunday.

Every dog has its day
Mohali, February 26
As many as 260 dogs of 50 different breeds participated in the annual dog show organised by the Mohali Kennel Club at the YPS ground here on
Sunday. The proud owners of the contestants showcased their pedigree. Apart from the Kennel Club owners of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, dog owners from as far as Rajasthan and New Delhi had come to participate in the contest.

Commuting on these roads a nightmare
Panchkula, February 26
Commuting on potholed roads here is turning into a nightmare for motorists. City residents are finding it very difficult to drive on these roads, but the authorities have failed to repair the roads despite the former highlighting the problem a number of times.

Struggle of an artiste brought to the fore
Chandigarh, February 26
Mumbai-based Echelons theatre ensemble supported by the department of information, pubic relations and cultural affairs staged a Hindi play “Ad Maker” at the Randhawa auditorium. With all ingredients of a tense human drama, the play depicted the anguish of an young, energetic and highly imaginative film director whose calibre and genius could spell magic but he sadly ended up making Ad films only. The play progressed to make healthy criticism of well established film making houses in the country which employ such means to ensure their own progeny to dominate the film world.

Car panes smashed with stick
Chandigarh, February 26
Windowpanes of a car belonging to Vinod Kumar were found smashed in Sector 49 last night. The car was parked outside the house no 2873 and at around 3.45 am a man masked in a monkey cap smashed the windowpanes with a golf stick, alleged Kumar. He immediately called the PCR van but the accused managed to flee.

Man found dead on rail track
Chandigarh, February 26
An unidentified man in his late thirties was found dead on the railway track near Kala Gram here this morning. A Government Railway Police official reached the spot and took the body in his possession.

Clean chit PU’s headacheThe professor is accused in a recruitment scam at NIT,
Jammu
Chandigarh, February 26
The issue of sanctioning permission to the CBI for the prosecution of chemical engineering professor RK Wanchoo is bound to create a storm in the forthcoming Syndicate on February 29 as the NIT, Jammu, in its latest communication to the
PU, has once again given a clean clean chit to Wanchoo in the recruitment scam.

CAT decision opens up doors for aspiring teachers
Chandigarh, February 26
The full bench of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Chandigarh, has decided on the applications filed by three applicants and held that they are eligible to be considered for appointment to the post of teachers in the UT government schools.

Kindergarten kids win hearts with their performance
Chandigarh, February 26
Parents of kindergarten children were held spellbound as the kids belted out some truly memorable rhymes, nursery songs and numbers in English and Hindi at the
Strawberry Fields Kindergartens’ week-long musical mornings.

Tiny tots sing nursery rhymes at Strawberry Fields Kindergarten.

'School cinema' becomes part of school’s curriculum
Panchkula, February 26
In an attempt to enhance self-confidence and personality of students, The
Gurukul, Sector 20, has included ‘school cinema’ in its curriculum. The students are being shown 10-minute long documentary films, which not only carry social messages, but also offer solutions to various problems being faced by today’s generation and their parents as well.
Sanjay Thareja, director of the school, said these films were especially developed for children, parents and teachers.

Experts to dwell on emerging paradigm in financial sector
Patiala, February 26
The School of Applied Management in collaboration with the National Stock Exchange of India will organise a one-day UGC-sponsored national seminar on “Emerging Paradigm in Indian Financial Sector” on February 28. The seminar aims at providing a platform to academicians, research scholars, managers and management students to develop and contribute papers from various facets of financial sector.

Rupinder adjudged best athlete
Dera Bassi, February 26
DS Gurukul College of Education, Gholumajra, organised an atheletics meet in the college premises on February 25. On this occasion college principal Dr (Mrs) Satinder Dhillon and director Surjit Brar were the chief guests in the morning and evening sessions respectively.

Harsharan Singh, Sandeep Kaur adjudged best athletes
Fatehgarh Sahib, February 26
The 19th annual athletics meet of the Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Engineering College concluded here today. The closing ceremony was presided over by Balwinder Singh Bhundar, member of the college’s managing trust. Harsharan Singh of the Tsunami house was adjudged the best athlete (Boys) and Sandeep Kaur of Tornado house was adjudged the best athlete (Girls). Hurricane house won the overall trophy, followed Tornado house (second and Tsunami house (third).

Three booked for fraud
Mohali, February 26
The police has registered a case of cheating and forgery against Jarnail Singh Grewal, Karnail Singh Grewal and Kanwaljeet Kaur, all residents of Sector 71, on a complaint of an NRI, Malkiat Singh Dhaliwal. The complainant alleged that while he was running his business in Canada, he came to India in 2001 along with Jarnail Singh and purchased a JCB machine for running business in India. Though Malkiat Singh had paid the entire amount which was Rs 15 lakh, the profit was never shared with him. A joint account was opened to deposit Rs 50,000 per month but the amount was never deposited.

Cyclist dies in accident
Chandigarh, February 26
Jatinder Kumar (27) received serious injuries in an accident and later died last night. A scooter coming from the wrong side hit his bicycle at Sector 43 here.

World Series Hockey will see performances by Saif Ali Khan, Mika, Neha Dhupia
Chandigarh, February 26
The opening of the upcoming World Series Hockey tournament will see participation of stars like Saif Ali Khan, Mika, Neha
Dhupia, singer Harshdeep Kaur, and many others.

Vying for top slot: Players in action during the CICA Friends Cup at SD Senior Secondary School at
Sector 24 in Chandigarh on Sunday. Tribune photo: Parvesh Chauhan

250 aspirants participate in cricket talent hunt
Chandigarh, February 26
Kings XI Punjab has tied up with Indraprastha, All India Sports Foundation for presenting India’s first ever cricket based reality show. The show aims at providing a platform for budding cricketers to showcase their talent in front of viewers. While nearly 250 players participated in the selection process for Punjab and Himachal teams today at the cricket stadium in Sector 16, many more are expected to come for the next trial scheduled next month, said Rohini
Rajdev, chairperson of the show.

Godrej & Boyce crush IREO to win title
Panchkula, February 26
Fine batting performance by Inderjeet (51 runs) enabled Godrej & Boyce to score a comfortable victory over IREO in the final match of the second Proflex Cup being organised by the Cricket Federation of Haryana here today.

The winners of Proflex Cup League Cricket Tournament with the trophy at Cricket Stadium, Sector 3, Panchkula, on Sunday. Tribune photo: Nitin Mittal

Hole-in-one feat achieved thrice in a month
Panchkula, February 26
Three Tricity golfers - JS Maggu, Saahil Joshi and Brig (retd) DS Thukral - got a hole-in-one within a span of one month at Panchkula Golf Club. This is considered a rear feat in the game, something not every golfer is fortunate enough to achieve. There are several golfers, who despite having played the game for years, are not able to get a hole-in-one.

Coaching camp for golfers
Panchkula, February 26
After holding three coaching camps earlier, another European Golf Teachers Federation (EGTF) camp for all age groups, will be conducted at the Panchkula Golf Club next month.